Boat with a hinged gate

ABSTRACT

A boat including a deck and at least two wall segments extending upwardly from the deck and at least partially defining an interior. The wall segments are spaced from one another by a gap or passage for providing passengers with access into an out of the interior. A gate including a hinge assembly is attached to the end of one of the wall segments at the gap for opening and closing to control access through the gap. The hinge assembly includes an outer member attached to the wall segment, an inner member attached to the remainder of the gate and a glide sleeve disposed between the inner and outer members. The glide sleeve is of a low-friction material for providing a low-friction contact surface between the inner and outer members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The subject invention is related to boats. More specifically, thesubject invention is related to boats having a gate and hinge assembly.

2. Related Art

Recreational boats are continuously improving and becoming increasinglyluxurious. Many boats, such as pontoon boats, include a gate extendingbetween two wall segments and rotatable between open and closedpositions for controlling access into and out of the interior space ofthe boat. Movement between the open and closed positions is controlledby a hinge assembly.

Many pontoon boats include one or more butt or piano hinges forcontrolling the movement of one or more gates. Such hinges typicallyinclude a pair of wings, one of which is attached to the gate and theother of which is attached to the end of one of the wall segments. Eachof the wings also has at least one knuckle with a cylindrically shapedbore, and the knuckles of the two wings are aligned axially with oneanother and a pin is inserted through the aligned bores to join the gatewith one of the wall segments while allowing the gate to pivot about thepin between the open and closed positions. While effective atcontrolling the movement of the gate between open and closed positions,such hinge assemblies have their drawbacks. For example, the knuckleportions are prone to bending or deforming if an excessive load isapplied to the gate, thereby enlarging the inner bores. This couldresult in a rattling noise from the pin moving back and forth within theknuckles. Additionally, bending of the knuckle portion of the wingscould result in an unsightly misalignment between the gate and the wallsegments, thereby detracting from the overall appearance of the boat. Inaddition to their functional limitations, such wing and pin hingeassemblies are very utilitarian and may lack the appearance desired forhigher end boat applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a boat is provided including adeck and a plurality of wall segments extending upwardly from the deckto at least partially define an interior space for accommodatingpassengers. At least two of the wall segments have ends that are spacedfrom one another to present a gap or passage through which passengersmay enter and exit the interior space. A gate is connected to one end ofone of the wall segments through a hinge assembly for selectivelyopening and closing the passage. The hinge assembly includes an outermember, an inner member and a glide sleeve disposed between the innerand outer members. The glide sleeve is made of a low-friction materialdifferent than that of the inner and outer members to provide a lowfriction contact surface between the inner and outer members, therebyfacilitating rotation of the gate relative to the wall segments betweenthe open and closed positions.

The resulting hinge assembly controls the movement of the gate moresmoothly and is more robust than other known hinge assemblies. Further,the inner and outer members may be made of hard, durable andaesthetically appealing materials such as stainless steel orchrome-plated steel, thereby giving the boat a more luxuriousappearance. Additionally, the hinge assembly is more robust than otherknown marine hinge assemblies since any force acted on the gate isdistributed along the length of the inner and outer members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bereadily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by referenceto the following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective and elevation view of an exemplary pontoon boatwith a gate in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is another perspective and elevation view of the exemplarypontoon boat with the gate in an open position;

FIG. 3 is a front and elevation view of the gate of the exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front and elevation view of the hinge assembly of theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front and elevation view of the inner member of theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a front and elevation view of the glide sleeve of theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of forming a boat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ENABLING EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate correspondingparts throughout the several views, a pontoon boat 20 is generally shownin FIGS. 1 and 2. The pontoon boat 20 includes a deck 22 which isfloatably supported by a plurality of pontoons 24 extending in spacedand parallel relationship with one another. It should be appreciatedthat the boat 20 does not have to be a pontoon boat 20 as shown in theexemplary embodiment, but instead could be any other type of boat, suchas a ski boat, a yacht or a sailboat.

The pontoon boat 20 includes a plurality of wall segments 26 disposed onthe deck 22 and extending upwardly therefrom to a free top edge, therebyat least partially defining an interior space for accommodatingpassengers. The wall segments 26 are spaced from one another adjacentthe bow of the boat 20 to present a gap, or passage, for allowingpassengers to enter and exit the interior space. A gate 28 including ahinge assembly 30 is attached to the end of one of the wall segments 26at the gap for opening and closing the passage. It should be appreciatedthat the pontoon boat 20 could include any number of passages and gates28 for allowing passengers to enter and exit the interior space from anydesirable location of the boat 20, e.g. the stern, starboard side orport side.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the gate 28 includes a skeleton 32, generallyindicated, having a rectangular member 34 which at least partiallydefines the outer periphery of the gate 28 and a plurality ofcross-members 36 extending in a horizontal direction between oppositesides of the rectangular member 34. The rectangular member 34 of theexemplary embodiment is formed of an elongated tube which is bentthrough four corners to define the generally rectangular shape, but theends of the tube are left spaced from one another to present a gap onone of the sides of the rectangle. It should be appreciated that therectangular member 34 could be non-tubular, could be formed of anydesirable number of pieces and could be shaped through any desirableprocess.

The rectangular member 34 and/or at least one of the cross-members 36include a plurality of flanges 38 extending toward the open middle ofthe rectangular shape. At least one decorative panel 39 (shown in FIGS.1 and 2) is attached to the skeleton 32 at the flanges 38. Preferablythe gate 28 includes two decorative panels 39, one attached to each sideof the flanges 38 so that the flanges 38 are hidden from view. Thedecorative panels 39 could be of any desirable material and could beattached to the flanges 38 through, for example, mechanical fasteners,adhesives, brazing, etc. The decorative panels 39 are preferablygenerally flat and are preferably painted the same color as the wallsegments 26 on either side of the gate 28.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hinge assembly 30, generally indicated, isattached to the skeleton 32 of the gate 28 at the gap of the rectangularmember 34. The hinge assembly 30 includes an outer member 40 which isfixed to the one of the wall segments 26 and an inner member 42 whichextends between and is attached to the ends of the rectangular shapedmember. The inner member 42 is rotatable relative to the outer member40, thereby allowing the gate 28 to swing between the closed and openpositions of FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively. As shown in the cross-sectionalview of FIG. 7, the inner member 42 is disposed within the outer member40, and a glide sleeve 44 is disposed between the outer and innermembers 40, 42. The glide sleeve 44 could be in a press-fittingrelationship with either the outer member 40 or the inner member 42, butnot both so as to avoid inhibiting rotation of the inner member 42relative to the outer member 40. Although the glide sleeve 44 is notpress-fit with both the outer and inner members 40, 42, it is preferablydimensioned so as to allow minimal (if any) transverse movement of theinner member 42 relative to the outer member 40. In addition topreventing undesirable rattling of these components when the boat 20 isvibrated such as while travelling through rough waters, properdimensioning of the glide sleeve 44 also allows for any forces exertedon the gate 28 to be distributed along the length of the outer member40, thereby protecting the hinge assembly 30 from damage.

A puck-shaped disc 46 is fixed to the top and bottom of the inner member42 for restricting movement of the inner member 42 relative to the glidesleeve 44 and the outer member 40. Since the outer member 40 is attachedto the wall segment 26, the puck-shaped discs 46 also restrict movementof the gate 28 relative to the wall segments 26 in a vertical direction.The puck-shaped discs 46 are preferably welded to both the inner member42 of the hinge assembly 30 and to the rectangular member 34 of theskeleton 32. However, it should be appreciated that the puck-shapeddiscs 46 could be attached to these components through any desirableprocess or could be formed integrally with the rectangular member 34 ofthe skeleton 32.

The outer and inner members 40, 42 and the puck-shaped discs 46 arepreferably of metal, such as stainless steel or chrome-plated steel forstructural, corrosion resistance and aesthetic purposes, but could be ofa variety of different materials including polymeric materials orcomposites. The glide sleeve 44 is formed of a low-friction materialwhich is different than the materials of the outer and inner members 40,42 for reducing the friction which opposes the movement of the innermember 42 relative to the outer member 40. The glide sleeve 44 ispreferably formed of a polyoxymethylene material such as Delrin®, whichis a product of the E.I. Dupont Company. Polyoxymethylene has been foundto provide a surface with a low coefficient of friction yet is bothdurable and wear resistant. Thus, gate 28 can pivot smoothly between theopen and closed positions throughout the life of the boat 20. However,it should be appreciated that the glide sleeve 44 could be of a range ofdifferent low-friction materials.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a plate 48 including a plurality of threadedstuds 50 spaced vertically from one another is attached to the exteriorsurface of the outer member 40. The wall segment 26 includes a pluralityof apertures (not shown) for receiving the studs 50. Nuts (not shown),or any other type of fastener, may then be used to solidly attach theouter member 40 of the hinge assembly 30 to the corresponding wallsegment 26. The plate 48 is preferably attached to the outer member 40through welding, though any desirable joining process may be used. Itshould be appreciated that the outer member 40 could alternately befixed to the wall segment 26 through any desirable type of connectionincluding, for example, other types of mechanical fasteners, welding,brazing, etc.

Another aspect of the present invention provides for a method of forminga boat 20. Referring to the flow chart of FIG. 8 and the structure ofFIGS. 1-7, the exemplary method includes the step 100 of providing adeck 22 having at least two wall segments 26 at least partially definingan interior and spaced from one another to define a gap. The methodproceeds with the step 102 of forming a skeleton 32 of a gate 28. Themethod then continues with the step 104 of positioning a glide sleeve 44of a low-friction material between an inner member 42 and an outermember 40 onto the glide sleeve 44 such that the glide sleeve 44 isdisposed between said outer and inner members 40, 42 to form a hingeassembly 30. The glide sleeve 44 is formed of a material different thanthe material of the outer and inner members 40, 42 to provide a lowfriction contact surface between the outer and inner members 40, 42. Themethod proceeds with the step 106 of attaching the ends of the ends ofthe inner member 42 of the hinge assembly 30 to the skeleton 32 of thegate 28. Further, the method includes the step 108 of attaching theouter member 40 to an end of one of the wall segments 26 at the gap forallowing the gate 28 to pivot about the hinge assembly 30 between anopen position and a closed position.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in light of the above teachings and may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A boat comprising: a deck; at least two wallsegments extending upwardly from said deck to at least partially definean interior space, said wall segments being spaced from one another todefine a gap; a gate having a hinge assembly connected to an end of oneof said wall segments for selectively opening and closing said gap; saidhinge assembly including an outer member attached said end of one ofsaid wall segments and an inner member disposed within said outer memberand rotatable relative thereto; said hinge assembly further including aglide sleeve disposed between said inner and outer members; and saidglide sleeve being made of a low-friction material different than thatof said inner and outer members and providing a low friction contactsurface between said inner and outer members for facilitating rotationof said gate relative to said wall segments between an open position anda closed position.
 2. The boat as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidlow-friction material of said glide sleeve is of a polyoxymethylenematerial.
 3. The boat as set forth in claim 1 wherein said inner member,said outer member and said glide sleeve have a tubular shape.
 4. Theboat as set forth in claim 1 wherein said glide sleeve has a tubularshape and is sized to restrict transverse movement of said inner memberrelative to said outer member.
 5. The boat as set forth in claim 4wherein said glide sleeve is in press-fitting relationship with one ofsaid inner and outer members.
 6. The boat as set forth in claim 1wherein said gate further includes a skeleton having a rectangularmember being bent into a generally rectangular shape.
 7. The boat as setforth in claim 6 wherein said rectangular member presents a gap on oneside and wherein said inner member of said hinge assembly is attached tothe either end of said rectangular member at said gap.
 8. The boat asset forth in claim 7 wherein said rectangular member includes at leastone flange extending outwardly therefrom toward the middle of saidrectangular shape and wherein a panel is attached to said at least oneflange.
 9. The boat as set forth in claim 8 wherein said rectangularmember has a generally circular cross-section that extends along saidgenerally rectangular shape.
 10. The boat as set forth in claim 9wherein said skeleton further includes a plurality of cross-membersextending horizontally between the sides of said rectangular member. 11.The boat as set forth in claim 10 wherein at least one of saidcross-members includes at least one flange attached to said panel. 12.The boat as set forth in claim 1 further including a plate attached toan exterior surface of said outer member and wherein said plate includesa plurality of threaded studs spaced from one another and in engagementwith one of said wall segments.
 13. The boat as set forth in claim 1further including a pair of puck-shaped discs attached to opposite sidesof said inner member for restraining axial movement of said outer memberand said glide sleeve relative to said inner member.
 14. The boat as setforth in claim 1 further including a plurality of pontoons for floatablysupporting said deck.
 15. A method of forming a boat, comprising thesteps of: providing a deck having at least two wall segments at leastpartially defining an interior and spaced from one another to define agap; forming a skeleton of a gate; positioning a glide sleeve of alow-friction material between an inner member and an outer member ontothe glide sleeve such that the glide sleeve is disposed between saidinner and outer members to form a hinge assembly, wherein the glidesleeve is of a material different than the material of the inner andouter members to provide a low friction contact surface between theinner and outer members; attaching the ends of the ends of the innermember of the hinge assembly to the skeleton of the gate; and attachingthe outer member to an end of one of the wall segments at the gap forallowing the gate to pivot about the hinge assembly between an openposition and a closed position.
 16. The method as set forth in claim 15wherein the glide sleeve is of a polyoxymethylene material.
 17. Themethod as set forth in claim 15 wherein the step of forming the skeletonis further defined as bending a tube into a generally rectangular shape.